Exceeds Expectations
by Arianna Waters
Summary: Can one person change someone's mind over something they have hated since forever? And then, can just one simple incident change that likeness back to hatred? Follow Scorp in this roller-coaster of Hate-Love-Hate! Written for QFLC 2k16 Round 2. #Falcons
**DISCLAIMER:** Anything that you recognize and have read before belongs to our beloved JKR, and I do not intend to use it for my profit except for scores in QLFC.

 **A/N:** This is Beater 2 from Falmouth Falcons.

# SUBJECT: Care of Magical Creatures

# MAIN PROMPT:Write about someone's hatred for the subject

# ADDITIONAL PROMPTS USED:

7\. (word) light

14\. (quote) 'The starting point of all achievement is desire.' – Napoleon Hill

15\. (dialogue) "It happened again, what do I do?"

# WORD COUNT: 2990

 _# This story is dedicated to The Lady Arturia for being an awesome captain and a strong support since Day One._

# Thanks to my amazing team for beta'ing my fic. You guys rock!

 **Exceeds Expectations**

 _All eyes were on me as I walked towards the table decked with blue and silver. My heart was beating painfully against my chest_ _as I took the last, shaky steps towards the table._

Had I done the right thing? Would I be better off in Slytherin after all?

 _Whispers broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall as the Professor called out, "Potter, Albus." I couldn't help but hold my breath, wondering what House he would be in._

" _RAVENCLAW!"_

 _My hands clapped to the beat of the whistles and cheers of my table. I was quite surprised when the young Potter boy came to sit next to me. Swallowing, I waited as he turned to me and opened his mouth, "Hi, Sc_ — _"_

"—orp, _wake UP_!" someone yelled right into my ear. I jerked awake with a start, muttering, "Mum?" in my sleepy haze.

"It's me you dimwit," Albus shouted. "Now, come on, or Rose will come up here and hex both of us."

With no intentions of being a victim to Miss Perfectionist's wand, I got up without further dilly-dallying.

.oOo.

 **[September 2, 2019]**

Rose Weasley was sitting in the common room, her pretty face hidden behind one of the huge tomes from the Ravenclaw library—and it was only the first day of the year.

 _Did I just call her pretty?_

Without looking up, she said, "Let's go down, guys. Professor Vector will be handing out the time tables soon."

" _You're_ the one who's sitting with your nose deep in a book," Al countered.

Ignoring him completely, she got to her feet. "I'm really looking forward to attending the Arithmancy class this year."

"Aunt Hermione's daughter through-and-through," Al muttered. "I'm excited for Care of Magical Creatures," he said, to which I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose in disgust.

"My father hated that class," I replied.

"Actually, he hated Hagrid," Rose said quietly. It seemed that my best friend knew more about my father, Draco Malfoy, than I did myself.

"He doesn't anymore. He still hates the class, though." I didn't care what the world thought of him—I was proud to be my father's son. He had made some mistakes due to . . . _Lucius'_ influence, but he had accepted the facts afterwards. He had realized his mistakes—unlike a lot of cowards out there. I hadn't grown up listening to ' _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ '. I had grown up listening to the story of my dad's and his rival trio's lives. People still weren't ready to believe that he was the Deputy Head of—

"Scorp!" Albus yelled, interrupting my train of thought, waving his Care of Magical Creatures textbook in front of my face.

"Earth to Scorpius," Rose added. "We've reached the Great Hall, by the way, while your mind was elsewhere."

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought that sharing a dorm for two years with this—" Al waved his hand at me "—creature would have gotten me used to his daydreaming." I punched him in the side as he finished with, "But I do know better."

As I munched on my toast, Rose read out today's schedule from the time table we'd just received.

"Herbology—Double Care of Magical Creatures—" I groaned. "—looks like we've got the whole morning outdoors. In the afternoon, double Potions—and a Charms class to conclude the day."

"My dad and Uncle Ron loved Care of Magical Creatures a lot," Albus tried to reassure me.

"But Mum told me that was just because Grandpa Hagrid taught it," Rose countered.

"You're not helping at all, Rose, you know that?" I said, picking up my bag.

We made our way to the greenhouse—with Albus sulking the entire way. He didn't like Herbology at _all_.

"Good morning, class. We'll be revising Severing Charms today. As you might recall—" I tuned Professor Longbottom out. I knew the charm like the back of my hand, so I began preparing myself mentally for the upcoming ordeal.

"It happened again, what do I do?" Al groaned some time during class, when, instead of cutting the leaf as he was supposed to, he exploded his seventh one for the day—leaving him, Rose and me in a green mess.

At last the moment I'd been dreading arrived, as Professor Longbottom dismissed us with, "—six inches to be submitted next Monday. You may leave, now!"

"Stop being grumpy," Al muttered as I claimed my hate for that disgusting subject again.

As we made our way across the grounds, my gaze travelled to the enormous, grey headstone that stood there; its words had been etched into my mind the day it had been erected.

RUBEUS HAGRID

6 Dec 1928 – 17 August 2015

Hogwarts' One Man Army: Missed by All Beings—Big and Small.

I could still remember the day when the Minister came to our house.

" _Minister Shacklebolt is here, Master," our house elf told my father._

 _I sighed as I put my broom and the Broomstick Servicing Kit down. The Ministry people couldn't let my father spend time with me even on Sunday._

" _Ask him to come in please, Dip," my father said to the elf, who went back, his tiny robes fluttering behind him like a butterfly's wings._

 _Dip returned with a bald, cool-looking man._

" _Good morning, Mr. Malfoy," the Minister greeted. "And this must be young Mr. Malfoy," he added, shaking hands with me._

" _Good morning, Minister. How may I help you?"_

" _Oh, I just wanted to have a word with you, Mr. Malfoy."_

 _His father nodded solemnly. "Alright. Shall we go to our study?"_

" _No, here is fine," he said._

" _Okay," Dad replied, gesturing for him to take a seat. "Yes, Minister?"_

 _After a long pause, the man spoke. "I'm here to discuss Hagrid's will."_

 _With surprise etched on his face, my father asked uncertainly, "I'm—I'm mentioned in there?"_

" _Yes." The man pulled out the scroll of parchment, his eyes searching for something. "Yes, here it is. 'To Draco Malfoy, I leave my Hippogriff Buckbeak, in a hope that he would not follow his father's footsteps ever again.'"_

That was the first and only time I had seen my father cry.

But that didn't change my feelings towards magical beasts—nothing could. Especially knowing the fact that the progeny of another of Hagrid's own pets was the reason for his death.

"Stop!" Albus shouted, pulling me back to the present. "Where are we actually going?"

"Knowing Professor Lovegood, the classroom could be anywhere," Rose said.

"Good morning, students," a dreamy voice sounded from behind us. "Follow me, please."

Professor Lovegood led us to the boundary of the Forbidden Forest.

"Are we g-going in t-there?" a timid-looking Gryffindor asked. So much for their bravery.

"Yes," Professor Lovegood said. "Your classroom is in there, just a dozen meters ahead." Ignoring the girl's protests, she continued walking, leaving us with no choice but to follow.

We finally reached a clearing, which had been decorated rather weirdly, so to speak. Orange stools were placed in a semi-circle, silver unicorn tail-hair draped over the surrounding trees. The unicorn-hair shimmered as the light caught it, casting dappled patterns on the soft forest floor.

"Hagrid left me those," a soft voice spoke in my ear.

I spun around to see Professor Lovegood. I couldn't hate the decorations now, could I? Though I had never met Hagrid in person, I liked him a lot from my father's tales.

"Gather around, now," she spoke in a voice only she—and probably Sybill Trelawney—would have considered loud. "I'm Luna Lovegood, your teacher for Care of Magical Creatures. Before taking up the position of a professor, I was a Magizoologist and conducted research on magical creatures.

"During which time, I found that a lot of the creatures that my father, myself, and a lot of other people—" I suppressed a smirk at this, thinking of my father's tales about Xenophilius Lovegood, "—used to believe in were just made-up stories.

"My method of teaching will be different from your other teachers'. We'll study creatures, of course, but I would ask you not to believe in everything I say."

"What do you mean?" Callie Boot demanded.

"We will play a game called ' _Quibbler_ ' in my classes." Before any of us could raise a question, she continued, "Here's how it's going to work: I will give out information, not all of which will be true, and it's up to you to pick out the facts from the fables. If you believe something is wrong, you'll raise your hand and declare 'Quibbler', and if you're right, you'll be awarded five points. If you're wrong, you'll all have to do a six-inch essay on said topic, detailing why you thought they were actually facts. I'll be quizzing you with both the facts and the Quibblers each Monday."

I pondered the idea, thankful for the fact that we weren't going to have to mug up stories from the infamous Quibbler editions my father had shown to me. Around me, some were discussing the idea, Albus was doodling, and Rose was lost in her own thoughts.

"I'm sorry for being late, Professor." Heads turned as a diminutive-looking Gryffindor entered the clearing.

"No worries, Miss Westwood. The Wrackspurts must have caught you."

"QUIBBLER!" Rose shouted, practically jumping in her seat.

Professor Lovegood beamed at Rose, her face bearing a bemused expression. "Absolutely correct, Miss Weasley. Five points to Ravenclaw."

The newcomer looked from Professor Lovegood to Rose and back again in confusion, until one of her housemates pulled her aside and explained the situation to her.

"Today, we'll deal with any questions you have related to Care of Magical Creatures," Professor Lovegood said, turning back to the class.

And then the mayhem began.

"Are Nargles real?"

"Was your house really blasted up by an Erumpent Horn?"

"Will we study Hippogriffs this year?"

"Can only girls touch Unicorns?"

The professor answered each question—even the insane ones from Gryffindors and skeptical ones from Ravenclaws—patiently.

"Is it true that the Acromantulas killed Hagrid?" This one came from the tiny witch that had arrived late.

"Yes. Hagrid had a pet Acromantula called Aragog. When Aragog died, his sons and grandsons would not allow Hagrid into their nest. When the first generation died out, they stopped considering Hagrid as a friend and attacked him in the forest. When the Centaurs brought him back, he was severely wounded. Unfortunately, he did not survive."

"Why the hell are we still studying them, then?" The question escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

"Five points from Ravenclaw, Mr. Malfoy—that attitude isn't one a Ravenclaw should have." Rose looked at me in disgust. All she cared about was me losing the points she had earned. Did no one care about what had happened to Hagrid?

"A spider will always eat a fly caught in its nest," Professor Lovegood continued, her eyes looking suspiciously moist. "As a friend of Hagrid, I do feel for his loss. But as a teacher for Care of Magical Creatures, and a Magizoologist, I'll say that he shouldn't have ventured anywhere near their lair. Just because he couldn't think of them as evil didn't change the fact that they are merciless creatures."

' _You're right_ ,' I wanted to say, but I couldn't make those words come out of my mouth. Professor Lovegood must have picked up on my inner turmoil, because she said in a softer voice, "Stay back for a while after class, Mr Malfoy."

After the class was dismissed, she settled down on the stool Albus had previously been occupying.

Without much of a preamble, I began speaking. "My father used to tell me stories of his Hogwarts days when I was a kid. I picked up my hate for Care of Magical creatures from his experience of the class. Yes, people say that was because he hated Hagrid, but he didn't really like it without Hagrid, either."

I dropped my gaze as I continued. "The one person I was impressed with the most from his stories was Hagrid. That was one of the reasons I looked forward to studying at Hogwarts. I never actually met him in person, and after I found out how he died, my dislike for this subject only grew. Although he left Buckbeak to my father, I haven't ever gone anywhere in a ten-foot radius of it."

"Why not?" Professor Lovegood questioned.

"I can't bear the presence of an animal—let alone take care of it. I don't know why it's even necessary.. Nature can provide everything for their needs. Why are we even studying how to do that, then?"

Professor Lovegood patiently listened as I ranted on and on. As I took a deep breath, she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Firstly, Hagrid was a person worth all your respect; never let that change for anyone or anything." I nodded as she continued, "People can become heavily obsessed with their passions at times. My mother died when I was nine—one of her own spells backfired while experimenting."

She pulled her hand back and her eyes became unfocused as she went on. "Do not fear the creatures for their habits. It is in their nature to hunt, to kill—you can never change that. Coming back to why we should care for them—firstly, nature was plentiful until we humans interfered. The wizarding experiments and Muggle tec-tekno-technology are destroying nature, and being one of the most intelligent—yet stupid—beings, we have to look out for them. Secondly, as much as this subject teaches us how to care for them, it also teaches us how to keep ourselves safe. Thirdly, do get closer to Buckbeak. If not that, ask your dad to get you a pet. I assume you do not have one at the moment?"

I shook my head.

"Get one, then. You'll come to know about the significance of these creatures in our lives. Hagrid made friends with the wrong kind, not unlike your father and grandfather." I winced at her bluntness. "But a pet can make a better friend than any witch or wizard."

"I still don't think I'll do any good in the subject," I muttered.

"The starting point of all achievement is desire," she said. "You won't know unless you begin to want to do well. I'm sure if you actually try from your heart, you'll achieve an Outstanding in this subject."

I nodded. She was actually right—and did not look or act at all like 'Loony Lovegood', as people used to call her in her school days.

.oOo.

"How can you create something from nothing?" the bronze eagle-shaped knocker asked.

After a moment's thought, the answer came to me. "There's nothing like nothing. Nothing is also something."

"Right you are," it said, and the door swung open.

I stood near the window, looking over to the Quidditch pitch, as a soft hand caught mine.

"So, how did you like today's class?" Rose asked in a small voice.

"Not as bad as I had expected," I replied. A loud silence enveloped us, so I added, "It was good, actually."

She smiled.

Before either of us could say anything, the Scamander twins came jumping towards us.

"Do I smell some romantic tension in here?" one of them asked. Rose immediately let go of my hand as she blushed profusely.

"How did you guys like our mother?" the serious one—Lorcan—asked, and the conversation took a lighter turn, with occasional puns from Lysander.

.oOo.

 **[August 6, 2022]**

"Morning, Scorp!" Albus yelled in my ear. I pushed him back, and he fell unceremoniously to the floor. As per the usual norm, I was spending a week of the holidays at my best friend's house. It was my final day there, and the entire Potter-Weasley clan had gathered together under one roof.

I pulled back the blanket that Al had snatched away. Before I could go back to sleep, though, the door opened.

"Breakfast is ready!" my girlfriend shouted. "Get down to the kitchen, you sleepyheads!"

"Morniiiiiiiiiiiing Rose." I yawned, getting up from the bed. Ignoring me completely, she wrinkled her nose and turned away, muttering under her breath. I kicked Al, who wouldn't stop laughing. So much for a best friend!

Half an hour later, all of the Potter and Weasley family, the Lovegood twins, James' girlfriend Lilia Wood, and me, were sitting at the enormous dining table.

As Al and I were making our way through a third helping of bacon and eggs—what can I say? Boys do eat a lot—Rose announced, "Professor Longbottom told Mum that our OWL scores will come in today. I'm super nervous!"

"Ah, I remember those awful days," Lysander teased, winking at his boyfriend, Al.

"And what're you nervous for, cousin of mine?" Fred added. Those two, along with James, loved pulling Rose's leg at every chance they got.

James couldn't help but add in, "She's probably worried she wouldn't get as many OWLs as Aunt 'Mione did."

Rose preferred to ignore them as usual, although her light-brown eyes spoke volumes about her anxiety. I held her hand under the table—all the while looking around for Hugo and Mr. Weasley—Ron. (There're so many of them!) She gave me a small smile.

Just as Vic, Molly and Rose were collecting the dishes, three handsome owls soared in through the open window, and Rose rushed towards them.

"I think the results are here!" she cried.

I went up to the owl and untied my report from its leg. As I opened up the scroll and scanned through my report-card, my heart fell, and I dropped back in the chair.

"What happened?" my best mate asked me worriedly, although his eyes were sparkling with joy.

"I hate Care of Magical Creatures," I whispered.

"Let me see," my girlfriend said, her face lit up with happiness. I stood up and tried to take it out of her reach, but she was faster. "But you've got an—"

Turning around and moving towards the door, I shouted over my shoulder, "Exceeds Expectations!"


End file.
